The Letter
by ThunderApple
Summary: After Finn's breakup with Flame Princess, he has a lot on his mind. Above all, he wants to tell her the truth about what happened to tear them apart - even if his own pride suffers, she deserves answers. Oneshot.


Hello everyone! Here's a short AT fic that's been sitting in a folder for a year or two. Enjoy!

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The sunset was an amazing swirl of red, orange, and purple hues, as the sun gently began to hide behind the edges of the Ice Kingdom. The snowy crags became dark silhouettes, the sky darkening as the few rays of light remaining on the grasslands slowly faded to nothing.

Finn the Human sighed at the display, turning his eyes downward to stare at his bandaged hands, worn after a full day of battle. The various events of the day were far from the front of his mind.

As the orange skies in the distance went dark, his mind refocused on the issue at hand.

Flame Princess.

The day had started out simple enough. He had been enjoying one of Jake's new experimental pancake recipes, when a disheveled goblin messenger had crashed through one of the treehouse windows, babbling wildly while he paced around the main floor of the wooden structure.

Jake had ignored him after glancing in his direction, while BMO had begun to attempt a form of karate takedown strike on the unsuspecting messenger. Finn had restrained the violent robot, and after questioning, had learned that a massive battle was taking place a few miles outside the goblin kingdom, between the outnumbered goblin army and a colossal force of Ooo's bandits.

Finn had grabbed the complaining Jake and rushed to the scene, taking over the goblin defenses and over the course of the entire day, turned the battle around and wiped out the bandit forces.

But his current issues had begun during the middle of the conflict, when he was holding a loose shield wall among his short green allies. A random, unexpected thought came out of freaking nowhere.

 _My breakup with FP went terribly… did I ever truly apologize for being a dumb but?_

The thought was distracting enough to almost get him killed, and dominated his mind the rest of the day. He had returned lightly wounded, and spent the evening sitting on a stump outside the treehouse watching the sun set.

"I never did," he realized sadly. "No wonder she doesn't take me seriously."

He continued to stare out the darkening grasslands, guilt creeping into his heart. He was supposed to be the good guy, the hero; and yet, he had handled his issues with Flame Princess… not well. If there was only a way to tell her, honestly, how he felt about his mistakes, without having an awkward face-to-face conversation, something he had been very bad at lately.

"How can I tell her?" He asked himself, putting his head in his hands.

"Dude, write a letter!" Jake shouted from his side, startling Finn off the stump with a girlish shriek.

Finn fell on his rear on the soft grass, staring at Jake, who had come out of absolutely nowhere. The boy sighed, crossing his legs and leaning forward. "It's not that easy, Jake. I messed up big time. How can I tell her the truth without seeming like a total floop?"

Joining him on the grass, Jake chuckled, stretching his arms into a pillow and laying back. "When you make a mistake, bro, you gotta own up to it. You gotta come out and say the truth – the whole entire thing, and explain why it is the truth. When everything is out on the big table, then, and only then, can someone see everything clearly and decide what to do."

Finn remained silent for a few moments before turning to his surprisingly wise best friend. "Are you sure? I won't look even worse?" he asked, rubbing his arm nervously.

"Go for it, dude," Jake exclaimed. "Don't think about what other people think, or what she might think. Just write what you think, and send that puppy!"

As the last amounts of light left the horizon, Finn nodded resolutely to himself. If anything, it was time Flame Princess got a straight answer. Whether he was forgiven in some way or banished from the Fire Kingdom forever, she would know the truth.

He vaulted to his feet, and raced towards the treehouse door, before stopping as another thought came to him.

"Jake, how did you even know what I was talking about?!"

"It's subtext, bro!"

Rushing through the dark forest, with branches scratching wildly at him, Finn clutched a folded envelope tightly to his chest. He dove under fallen trees, ducking and waving through the dark obstacle course, only one thing on his mind.

He burst from the edge of the forest, the increased heat from the Fire Kingdom hitting him in the face. He sprinted to the overhanging cliff before him, the entire land of fire coming to clear view. Several miles away rested the smoky spires of the Fire Palace, guarded by countless soldiers. Between him and the palace, lava, flames, and roving beasts waited.

Finn smiled at the display. He had a message to deliver, on his honor as a hero, and he would see it delivered. Flame shield or not.

Diving down the cliff, he pulled his spare sword from his back, driving it deep into the rocky dirt. The metal shrieked loudly as it slowed his descent, sparks flying outwards behind it. Finn landed cleanly, sheathing the blade and resuming his sprint towards his destination.

He wove his way through smoke and the controlled chaos of flames, his pace steady. He dodged several patrols of soldiers, ignoring the heat biting aggressively into his entire body. Sweat had soaked his clothes, and he tore his hat off midway to his goal, shoving it into his backpack.

By the time he had reached the palace walls, he was exhausted and panting, but determinedly maintained his speed, jumping onto the dark rock that built the massive structure. The material was extremely hot, and singed his hands with each touch. Finn took a deep breath and pushed forward, climbing his way up onto the first balcony he reached. He collapsed onto the less hot surface, exhaling a big breath of achievement. He crawled to the large doorway in the rock, cracking it and glancing inside.

It appeared to a bedroom, very fancy in design, with a large pillared bed and shelves along the walls. To the back, a desk rested against the wall, with a cadre of familiar candles resting upon it, instantly familiar to the boy. It was Flame Princess's Room.

Finn looked around, making sure it was clear. The last thing he needed to do was get caught in there. After deducing it was safe, he slid inside, and tip-toed his way over to the stone desk. He gently placed the envelope upon the desk face up, the two letters on the front clearly visible.

With a final glance, Finn exited the room by the balcony doors, resisting the urge to cheer in success. He dove from the walls and landed roughly, returning to a sprint, eager to leave the frying pan of a kingdom.

If anything else, she would know the truth.

Closing the doors behind her, Flame Princess leaned against them, taking a deep breath. She spent several minutes relaxing, more than ready to have time to herself.

Between her warmongering brother, the various and oppressing issues faced by the kingdom, and her infuriating father, she was exhausted. The few hours she had to herself each night were becoming more of blessing every day.

She crossed the room to her bed, removing her armor and tossing it to the side. She fell back onto the bed, letting a pleased sigh out as she sunk into the expensive, fire-proof fabrics. She tilted her head back, looking over the room. She had no idea how to spend her free time.

She stilled as she noticed something out of place. She climbed out of bed and approached her desk, curious. The envelope had certainly not been there when she had left in the morning.

Flame Princess gently picked up the parcel, the two letters on the front, FP, clearly addressing it to her.

"I get my mail through the servants, who sent this?" she asked no one in particular, staring at the clean envelope.

After a sigh of resignation, she opened it, finding a single piece of folded paper inside. Gently unraveling it, she came upon a handwritten letter, addressed to her.

 _Dear Flame Princess,_

 _Today it hit me – I never gave you the apology you deserved, or the explanation you deserved to hear. So here it is, the truth._

 _You're not the first princess I've liked. But you are the first one I had a chance with, and I messed it up badly. When I met you, all I first saw was some sort of enemy that Jake had brought home behind him, and I went to fight you. When I actually spoke with you, it was as if I had met someone I'd been waiting for, whether I knew it or not. When we talked throughout that night, especially in the goblin kingdom, I saw something beautiful – a being of passion, tied to nature itself. Everyone I met claimed you were evil, even Jake. But when I saw you, gently experiencing nature, I knew that couldn't be true._

 _We began hanging out and spending time together, even with the barrier between us – human and fire. But we made it work, and I still remember those days; they make me smile, even now. Our relationship went farther and farther, and was going great… until it happened._

 _You wanted an answer about what happened in the Ice Kingdom, why I lied to you, and I couldn't give it. I didn't know how to put it into words. I had a long time to realize everything I did, and now I can finally tell you why._

 _That night, after you kicked Ice King's can back to his kingdom, I had a really weird dream. I was on fire, and I panicked. But after a little while, I noticed that it wasn't burning me. When I looked up, I saw you shooting the fire at me. The fire suddenly felt good, relaxing, calming._

 _It was so unique that it was in my thoughts the next day. I couldn't get it out of my head, the feeling it gave me. I had us picnic in the Ice Kingdom, hoping that you might fight him again (which was awesome both times) and I would have the same dream. I didn't. I had a different one, more of a nightmare. Ice King was firing ice at me, and the Cosmic Owl was laughing at me from the side._

 _The next day, I had you and Ice King fight each other again, really hoping it would fix the dreams. And you know how that went._

 _What I did was not okay. I couldn't even find a way to tell you that I did it because of weird dreams. It sounds simple now that I'm talking about it._

 _So that's why I did it. That's why I was awkward and hard to work with when your dad and his weird friend took over your Kingdom. Because I didn't know how to talk to you, to tell you the truth._

 _I'm not writing this to ask you for anything, FP. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I was a dumb but, and you didn't deserve to be lied to._

 _I don't want to be Finn the awkward ex-boyfriend anymore. Finn the Hero apologizes for being stupid, and wants to tell you that if you ever need anything done for your kingdom, any monsters to be slayed, any dungeons to be cleared, you know where he lives._

 _Finn_

Flame Princess spent a long time staring at the piece of paper, some small part in the back of her head noticing that it wasn't burning.

This wasn't what she expected to be doing with her night.

A small smile flitted across her face. Finn was a total idiot. She had imagined a hundred different reasons for his actions, and not one of them was as simple as trying to have a good dream.

She opened her desk, pulling out a small picture of the two of them. They stood just apart, on the edge of a cliff, all of Ooo stretching into the distance behind them. Jake had taken the picture, after a day of exploring, bad jokes, and occasional dragon slaying.

Flame Princess placed her hand over the two of them. "I'm sorry too, Finn," she whispered. "You defied nature for me."

Standing up, she returned the picture to her desk, the letter falling into place right alongside it.

Finn had returned to his seat on the stump, and had spent the early hours of the night staring into the distance. He nursed his singed hands, wincing and slightly regretting not getting a flame shield from somewhere.

"Finn the Human!" a voice shouted, making Finn jump to his feet with a girlish scream, this time his sword swinging out to join it. He spun around to see a short flame citizen running towards him, a broad smile on his flaming face.

Finn rested the tip of his sword on the ground, wary of the newcomer. "Yup. What do you need?" he asked calmly.

"I bring a message from the Flame Princess!" he uttered somewhat nervously, looking awestruck to be in his presence.

Sheathing the sword behind him, Finn crossed his arms. That sure was fast. "What is it?"

The messenger grinned widely, pulling an orange letter, rolled up and tied in the center, out of his sash. He took a few steps to reach Finn, holding it out.

Finn hesitantly took it, holding it up close to his face to examine it. The messenger saluted and cried a nervous farewell, before bolting away back in the direction of the Fire Kingdom.

He was left standing in the dark, the unopened letter sitting in his grasp.

What would she say? Was she even angrier? Did she want him to stay out of her Kingdom forever?

He let out a half chuckle. Here he was, Finn the Hero, slayer of a thousand beasts, afraid to open a letter.

Finn apprehensively unbound the tie, letting it fall to the ground. He opened the roll of fancy paper, surprised to find a very short response.

 _Finn,_

 _I have a few things that need doing around here, if you're up for it. You know, a renegade dragon, a hidden spy, a princess missing her first friend, the usual._

 _Hope to see you soon._

 _-FP_

Finn gawked at the letter for a second before letting it fall to the grass beneath him. A broad smile stretched across his face, and he let out a loud cry of victory.

"JAKE!" He screamed, sprinting into the treehouse. "You were right!"

In the distance, among the distant smoke of the Fire Kingdom, the sun begun to climb upwards.

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Thanks for reading, and please review!

\- ThunderApple


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